Evaluation of a group intervention for children with food allergy and their parents

Background: Children with food allergy and their parents may experience substantial stress related to the risk of serious reactions and the demands of allergy management. Objective: To evaluate a group intervention for children with food allergy and their parents designed to increase parent-perceived competence in coping with food allergy and to decrease the parent-perceived burden associated with food allergy. Methods: Sixty-one children aged 5 to 7 years with food allergy and their parents attended I of 4 half-day workshops, with parent and child groups run concurrently. Parents completed self-report measures of perceived competence in coping with food allergy at 3 time points: preworkshop (within 8 weeks of the intervention), postworkshop (immediately after the intervention), and follow-up (4-8 weeks after the intervention). Parents completed a measure of burden associated with food allergy at preworkshop and follow-up. Parents and children also completed evaluations of the study intervention. Results: Parent-perceived competence in coping with food allergy increased significantly from preworkshop to postworkshop and follow-up, and parent-perceived burden associated with food allergy decreased from preworkshop to follow-up. Parent and child evaluations of the workshop were favorable. Conclusions: These findings provide preliminary support for the effectiveness and feasibility of a group intervention for children with food allergy and their parents and suggest the importance of controlled evaluations of group interventions in this population in the future.